Mayor’s State of the City Address 

Mayor Tammy Dana-Bashian delivered her Annual State of the City Address at this week’s Rowlett Area Chamber & Visitor Center Luncheon.

Watch to hear about the City’s numerous 2021 accomplishments as well as the outlook going forward for 2022!

Rowlett Police Chief Michael Godfrey Announces Retirement 
Effective April 30, 2022 

Serving in his current role since 2020, Chief Godfrey has been with the Rowlett Police Department for 22 years. During his tenure, Chief Godfrey has led his department with grace and a steady hand through the challenges facing modern law enforcement agencies and has embraced opportunities to enhance the department’s role in our community. Among his many achievements, these rank among the most impactful:

• Oversaw the creation of the department’s Crisis Assistance Program, which provides support to residents who require specific services due to an emergency or crisis situation. The program has grown from one officer to two, and recently added a fully licensed Clinician whose emphasis is to conduct more in-depth follow ups, referrals, positive contact, and care to the citizens of Rowlett in distress.
• Brought about a 11.5% decrease in Category 1 Crimes, due in part to advocating for the need, and then increasing the number of officers serving Rowlett; community education and crime prevention efforts; and onboarding crime-tracking software to assist effective officer deployment.   
• Helmed the department’s social justice movement response and participation, encouraging citizen engagement and enhancing relationship-building opportunities between officers and Rowlett residents.
• Provided extensive and comprehensive support to our community and his staff during both the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and unprecedented February 2021 winter weather event.

Chief Godfrey will leave a lasting legacy, having truly helped shape the culture, character and capabilities of our stellar Rowlett Police Department. We hope you will join us as we congratulate him on his retirement and express our sincere appreciation for his exemplary service and leadership. 

Rowlett Community Floods Animal Shelter with Donations

With colder temps, our shelter guests don’t get outside as much, so they needed some indoor entertainment options. Shelter staff put out a request for pig ears and large dog beds and, well, Wow!! The animals in our care feel so loved by all the Rowlett residents who responded and showered them with beds for those freezing cold mornings and goodies to help keep them engaged and occupied. Happy dogs while they are here, before finding their furrr-ever home.

Would you like to donate supplies or toys to the shelter? Check out the Rowlett Animal Shelter Amazon Wish List! 

Server Maintenance

Planned server maintenance beginning at 6pm, Friday January 14 will affect weekend operations in several City facilities. The Rowlett Community Centre will close at 6pm on Friday, January 14 and will reopen on Tuesday, January 18.

• The Rowlett Animal Shelter will be closed to the public on Saturday, January 15 and will reopen Tuesday, January 18. This facility closure does not affect the care provided to our shelter guests or prospective guests – staff remains on duty at the shelter and will continue to provide service as needed throughout our community.
• The Rowlett Public Library will be open with limited operations and no telephone service on Saturday, January 15 – patrons may check out digital and physical materials, but there will be no access to public computers, public printing, or Wi-Fi. Operations will resume as normal on Tuesday, January 18.

Police, Fire, and Emergency Medical Services will remain in operation. In case of emergencies, please call 9-1-1. We appreciate your patience during this time and apologize in advance for any inconvenience. 

Rowlett Parks and Recreation Basketball AND Pickleball Leagues 

Youth basketball teams are hard at work practicing – games begin Saturday, January 22! 
The competition will be fierce this season, here’s a look at the number of teams: 
6U – 6 teams 
8U – 7 teams 
10U – 6 teams 
12U – 6 teams  
 
Adult basketball play is already underway, the 12 teams started their season at the end of December and they are happy to be back on the courts after the holiday break. Games are played Monday and Wednesday at the Rowlett Community Centre.
 
Our NEW Pickleball League play began on January 5. Games are played on Wednesday from 8a-10a for 6 weeks ending on February 9. For more information about participating in this league, contact Don Simpkins (469)964-8623 or Kelly Alban (972)412-6170. 

Senior Field Trip to the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo - January 24

Yee-haw! Enjoy a day at this popular event watching tie-down roping, barrel racing, bull riding, and more.

$25  - call the Rowlett Community Centre at 972-412-6170 to register.

Kirby Road Rehab 

City contractor Texas Bit Paving has begun the rehabilitation of Kirby Road. The project should last approximately two weeks (weather dependent). Crews will then move to Chaha Road to begin that rehab project.